Winter storm Xynthia, which caused widespread damage across Europe in late February and early March, caused insured losses of about $2.8 billion, according to Swiss Re.

The BP P.L.C. Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico in April is expected to result in insured losses of about $1 billion, according to Swiss Re, although the complexity of the claims is such that there is still considerable uncertainty about the eventual loss, Swiss Re said. Swiss Re has not included liability claims in its figures, it noted.

About 260,000 people were killed in catastrophic natural and man-made disasters in 2010, the highest number since 1976, according to Swiss Re’s study. The Haiti earthquake in January caused the largest number of fatalities, claiming more than 222,000 lives.

The heat wave in Russia during the summer claimed about 15,000 lives, while 6,255 people were killed by summer floods in China and Pakistan, according to Swiss Re.